Photo By Sgt. Ryan Hallock | The controls of the Active Denial System are put on display during a training exercise...... read more read more
Subscribe
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – Imagine a non-lethal weapon system with the ability to target an individual up to 1,000 meters away and repel them with minimal risk of injury.
The U.S. Department of Defense Non-Lethal Weapons Program has technology that does that. The Active Denial System assists operating forces in minimizing casualties and collateral damage. The ADS projects a 1.5-meter beam of millimeter waves, which induce a temporary heating sensation in the target’s skin.
Soldiers from the 2nd and 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, 2nd Infantry Division, and the 42nd Military Police Brigade, volunteered to experience the intense heat of the ADS during a demonstration at JBLM Aug. 6.
The Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate conducted the two-day event in conjunction with five other military organizations, such as the Air Force Research Lab, the Army Research and Development Engineering Center, and the Office of Naval Research Center.
The event educated Soldiers on the ADS, which supports a full spectrum of operations ranging from crowd dispersal and checkpoint security to suppression of vehicle operators or occupants.
The ADS projects an energy wavelength that is only physically capable of reaching a skin depth of about one-sixty-fourth of an inch and produces no residual effects. After learning the science behind the ADS, Soldiers lined up to experience the effects firsthand.
“We can explain the effects all we want, but until you actually are engaged by it and feel it yourself, you don’t truly understand how powerful the repelling effect is,” said Marine Corps Col. Michael Coolican, director, Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate.
Sergeant 1st Class Patricia Krumnauer, chief of the Correctional Supervision Branch, 42nd MP Brigade, nervously waited in the long line of Soldiers. She has experienced a taser and pepper spray before and can now add the ADS to her resume.
Krumnauer uses non-lethal weapons during correctional facility operations and said the ADS would be effective there and in combat. It would be a really effective way to stop vehicles at traffic control points, because it can penetrate through windshields, she said.
“For the maneuver forces, it’s not always in the front of their minds to think about non-lethal weapons,” said Coolican. There are situations that our armed forces get into where control is necessary, but lethal weapons aren’t always the answer, he said.
As the Army adapts to the future, it is increasingly enhancing the capabilities of brigade combat teams. Coolican is confident the ADS can give commanders a successful option in a non-lethal arena.
“As we talk about modernizing the force and moving forward, direct energy weapons really are an area where there’s tremendous potential,” said Coolican.
Soldiers are scheduled to meet with members of the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate Aug. 7 to discuss how they would use the ADS in an operational environment and what customizations would be beneficial to their mission.
“The Soldier feedback is probably one of the most important aspects of this because they’re the ones actually on the ground,” said Maj. Jason Sama, requirements and education officer, Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate. “They’re the ones when it actually comes to execution who are going to be utilizing these systems, because they’re dealing with the scenarios on a daily basis, whether it be in training or in a combat scenario.”
For more information about the Active Denial System visit jnlwp.defense.gov.
| Date Taken: | 08.06.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 08.15.2014 14:55 |
| Story ID: | 139485 |
| Location: | JBLM, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 182 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Active Denial System heats up JBLM Soldiers, by SGT Ryan Hallock, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT